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Anime Spotlight Summer 2012 - The List

by Bamboo Dong,

Featured Series (Click for more)

(Jump to additional shows)

Binbogami ga!

Ebiten ~Ebisugawa Public High School's Tenmonbu~

Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere II

KOKORO-CONNECT

NAKAIMO ~My little sister is among them!~

Sword Art Online

Also Premiering

Title: Aesthetica of a Rogue Hero
Starts:Friday, Jul 6 at 10:30AM JST on AT-X
Studio:ARMS
Genre: Fantasy
Website: http://kichiku.tv/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Director: Rion Kujo (Samurai Harem, Ikki Tousen: Shugaku Toshi Keppu-roku)
  • Series composition: Ryunosuke Kingetsu (Ninja Nonsense, Tales of Symphonia the Animation)
  • Cast: Nobuhiko Okamoto as Akatsuki (Blue Exorcist, Bakuman)
Summary:

An international training organization named Bable helps young people returning from another world. One of those is Akatsuki Otorizawa, who has just returned to the real world from a world of sword and magic called Areizado, accompanied by a beautiful girl who happens to be the demon king's daughter.
Title: Aruvu Rezuru: Kikai Jikake no Yousei-tachi
Starts:Sunday, Jul 1
Studio:ZEXCS
Genre: Science fiction
Website: http://www.zexcs.co.jp/work/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Cast: Jun Fukuyama as Remu Mikage (Code Geass, Phi Brain), Eri Kitamura as Shiki Mikage (Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Kodomo no Jikan)
  • Director: Tatsuya Yoshihara (Sket Dance)
Summary:

Thanks to sophisticated technology, which has surpassed human intelligence and ability, people can use Nerve-seller Linker Nano-machines, which directly link the human nervous system wirelessly to networks. However, catastrophe strikes when an event called the "Early Rapture" causes tens of thousands of user to lose themselves in the network. ONe boy must try and take back the soul of his little sister.
Title: Chitose Get You!!
Starts:Monday, Jul 2 at 12:56AM JST on AT-X
Studio:
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Website: http://www.takeshobo.co.jp/sp/tv_chitose/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Original story: Etsuya Mashima (Koi Neko, Hiyomama)
  • Director and Character Design: Takako Sano (Fairy Tail)
Summary:

Based on a four-panel manga by the same name, Chitose Get You!! follows an elementary school girl named Chitose who pursues the affections of a young man named Hiroshi, who works at the town hall next to her school.
Title: Dakara Boku wa, H ga Dekinai
Starts:Friday, Jul 6 at 11:00PM JST on AT-X
Studio:Feel
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Website: http://boku-h.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Director: Takeo Takahashi (Spice and Wolf, Hit o Nerae!)
  • Series Composition: Naruhisa Arakawa (Elemental Gelade, The Legend of Black Heaven)
  • Original Character Design: Yoshiaki Katsurai (Lagrange - The Flower of Rin-ne)
Summary:

When Goddess of Death Lisara brokers a deal with young Ryosuke Kaga to stay in this world, she ends up robbing him of his lecherousness and stealing his ability to enjoy porn! To get his perverted spirit back, he grudgingly agrees to join her on her quest to find the "Singular Man."
Title: Dog Days'
Starts:Saturday, Jul 7 at 11:30PM JST on Tokyo MX
Studio:Seven Arcs
Genre:Fantasy, Romance, Adventure
Website: http://www.dogdays.tv/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Cast: Yui Horie as Millhiore F. Biscotti (Fruits Basket, Kanon), Ami Koshimizu as Leonmitchelli Galette Des Rois (Eureka Seven, Code Geass)
  • Director: Junji Nishimura (Kyo Kara Maoh!, Ranma 1/2)
  • Music: I've (Toaru Majutsu no Index, Waiting in the Summer)
Summary:

Set three months after the first season, Cinque is once again summoned to Flonyard. This time, though, he gets some company from some close friends.
Title: Hakuouki: Reimei-roku
Starts:Tuesday, Jul 10 at 2:53AM JST on Yomiuri TV
Studio:Studio DEEN
Genre: Bishounen, Historical
Website: http://www.geneonuniversal.jp/rondorobe/anime/hakuoki/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
    Director: Osamu Yamasaki (Akai Hayate, Gestalt)
  • Music: Ko Otani (Mobile Suit Gundam Wing, Gunslinger Girl II: Il Teatrino)
  • Theme song performance: Maon Kurosaki (High School of the Dead)
Summary:

A prequel to Hakuoki, the series takes place in 1863 after the Tokugawa shogunate creates the Roshigumi, a group of masterless samurai meant to aid Aizu forces in Kyoto. However, things don't go as planned, and the group is soon split into two opposing factions. One man is obligated to enter the conflict because of a blood debt, and must go up against the more powerful faction.
Title: Jinrui wa Suitai Shimashita
Starts:Sunday, Jul 1 at midnight JST on tvk 7, Tokyo MX
Studio:AIC ASTA
Genre: Dystopian, Dark Comedy
Website: http://www.mmv.co.jp/special/jintai/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Director: Seiji Kishi (Galaxy Angel Rune, My Bride is a Mermaid)
  • Cast: Mai Nakahara as main character (Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kira, Kaleidostar)
  • Music: Ko Otani (Hakuoki Reimeiroku, Haibane Renmei)
Summary:

Humanity has been in decline for several centuries. Food is scarce and resources are low. The only prosperous species are Fairies, small creatures with a weakness for sweets, and it's up to a UN arbitator to liase between the fairies and the humans. One day, a company starts filling the markets with strange products, and it's up to the arbitrator to figure out what's going on.
Title: Joshiraku
Starts:Friday, July 6 at 2:25AM JST on MBS/TBS
Studio:J.C Staff
Genre:Comedy
Website: http://www.starchild.co.jp/special/joshiraku/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
    Director: Tsutomu Mizushima (Genshiken, XXXHOLiC)
  • Series Composition: Michiko Yokote (Genshiken, XXXHOLiC)
Summary:

This comedy follows a group of female Japanese verbal show (rakugo) peformers, and their behind-the-scenes dressing room conversations.
Title: Kingdom
Starts:Monday, June 4 at 7:00PM JST on NHK-BS Premium
Studio:Pierrot
Genre: Historical
Website: http://www9.nhk.or.jp/anime/kingdom/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
    Director: Jun Kamiya (Blue Seed, The Third: The Girl with the Blue Eye)
  • Script: Naruhisa Arakawa (Blue Seed, Steel Angel Kurumi)
Summary:

Taking place in the Warring States Period in China, Orphans Shin and Hyou dream of some day proving themselves on the battlefield and becoming warlords.
Title: Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate
Starts:Thursday, Jul 5 at 1:25AM JST on TBS
Studio:AIC Build
Genre: School, Drama, Romance
Website: http://www.koichoco.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Script: Katsuhiko Takayama (Baka and Test - Summon the Beasts)
  • Theme Song Performances: "Signal Graph" by Annabel (Another, Sankarea), "Kaze no Naka no Primrose" by Ceui (The Girl Who Leapt Through Space, The Legend of the Legendary Heroes)
  • Music: Elements Garden (Bodacious Space Pirates, Senki Zessho Symphogear)
Summary:

In order to protect his Food Research Club from being abolished Yuki Ojima must do his best to win the election for student council president and save his club.
Title: La storia della Arcana Famiglia
Starts:Sunday, July 1 at 11:30PM JST on TV Kanagawa
Studio:J.C. Staff
Genre: Bishounen, Shoujo, Drama
Website: http://arcanafamiglia.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Notable Cast: Mamiko Noto [Felicita], Jun Fukuyama [Liberta], Tsubasa Yonaga [Nova], Hiroyuki Yoshino [Debito], Tomokazu Sugita [Pace], Yuichi Nakamura [Luca], Juurouta Kosugi [Dante], Koji Yusa [Jolly] from the original PSP game
  • Director: Chicaki Kon (Junjo Romantica, When They Cry - Higurashi)
Summary:

The Arcana Famiglia is a vigilante organization that protects the trade island of Regalos, and all of the members possess mysterious powers. When the leader of the organization announces his plans for retirement, he offers his title of "Papa"-- and his daughter's hand in marriage-- to whomever can emerge victorious from an upcoming competition.
Title: Moyashimon Returns
Starts:Friday, July 6 at 12:45AM JST on FujiTV
Studio:Shirogumi Inc., Telecom Animation Film
Genre:Comedy, Seinen, Science
Website: http://kamosuzo2.tv/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Returning Cast: Daisuke Sakaguchi [Tadayasu Sawaki], Akemi Kanda [Hazuki], Katsuyuki Konishi [Kaoru]
  • Director: Yuichiro Yano (Mujin Wakusei Survive, Moyashimon season 1)
Summary:

Picking up where the first season left off, Moyashimon Returns continues following agricultural student Tadayasu Sawaki, who was born with the unique ability to see microbes as tiny, sharp-witted anthropomorphic blob things.
Title: Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse
Starts:Monday, Jul 2 at 1:35AM JST on TV Tokyo
Studio: ixtl x Satelite
Genre: mecha
Website: http://muv-luv-te-anime.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Cast: Daisuke Ono as Yuya Bridges (Black Butler, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya)
  • Director: Takayuki Inagaki (Desert Punk, Rosario + Vampire)
  • Character Design: Yumiko Hara (Baby Princess 3D Paradise 0 [Love])
Summary:

Based on the novel, a spinoff of the 2006 visual novel Muv-Luv Alternative, this story follows the test pilots and mechanics of the United Nations Forces' Tactical Surface Fighter Testing Unit.
Title: Natsuyuki Rendezvous
Starts:Friday, Jul 6 at 1:15AM JST on FujiTV
Studio: Dogakobo
Genre: Josei, Supernatural, Romance
Website: http://natsuyuki.tv/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Cast: Jun Fukuyama as Atsushi Shimao (Black Butler, Code Geass)
  • Director: Kou Matsuo (Red Garden, Rozen Maiden)
  • Character Design/Animation Director: Junichiro Taniguchi (Madoka Magica, Big Windup! Season 2)
Summary:

A young man falls in love with the owner of the flower shop he works for. Unfortunately, he can also see the spirit of her dead lover, who's still hanging around her apartment...
Title: Oda Nobuna no Yabou
Starts: Monday, Jul 9 at 1:05AM JST on TV Tokyo
Studio: Studio Gokumi / Madhouse
Genre: Comedy, Romance, Historical
Website: http://odanobuna.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Series Composition: Masashi Suzuki (Kanokon: The Girl Who Cried Fox, Shuffle!)
  • Original Character Design: Miyami-Zero (High School DxD, My Imoto: Koakuma na A Cup)
Summary:

Regular high schooler Yoshiharu gets pulled into the Warring States era, where he meets Nobuna Oda. He soon realizes that all the famous warlords are actually female, and is quickly recruited to help Nobuna take over the world.
Title: Pokemon: Best Wishes season 2
Starts:Thursday, June 21 on TV Tokyo
Studio:Oriental Light and Magic
Genre: Childrens, Adventure
Website: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/pokemon_bw/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Director: Norihiko Sudo (Pokemon [ep 171-276], Piano)
  • Series composition: Atsuhiro Tomioka (Zombie-Loan, Samurai 7)
Summary:

Ash reunites with Sinnoh-region Champion Cynthia and travels to East Isshu, where the characters will participate in the Pokemon World Tournament Junior Cup, where they will determine who will challenge Isshu-region Champion Alder.
Title: Rinne no Lagrange season 2
Starts: Sunday, Jul 1 at 10:00PM JST on Tokyo MX, Bandai Channel
Studio: XEBEC
Genre: Action, Mecha
Website: http://lag-rin.com/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Returning cast: Kaori Ishihara as Madoka Kyono, Ai Kayano as Muginami, Asami Seto as Lan
Summary:

A direct continuation of the first season.
Title: Tari Tari
Starts:Sunday, Jul 1 at 10:30PM JST on TV Kanagawa
Studio:P.A. Works
Genre: Slice of life
Website: http://taritari.jp/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Original character design: tanu (Akiba's Trip)
  • Chief animation director: Kanami Sekiguchi (Hana-Saku Iroha, True Tears)
Summary:

Five girls form a vocal ensemble to celebrate their love of music, each with a unique dream.
Title: Yuruyuri♪♪
Starts: Tuesday, Jul 3 at 2:00AM JST on TV Tokyo
Studio: Dogakobo
Genre: Comedy, Slice of Life
Website: http://www.tv-tokyo.co.jp/anime/yuruyuri2/ 		Notable Cast/Staff:
  • Director: Masahiko Ohta (Yuruyuri, Mitsudomoe)
  • Returning cast: Minami Tsuda as Yui Funami, Rumi Ookubo as Chinatsu Yoshikawa, Shiori Mikami as Akari Akaza, Yuka Otsubo as Kyoko Toshino
  • Music: Yasuhiro Misawa (Minami-ke, Kokoro Connect)
Summary:

The second season of Yuruyuri will continue following four girls who take over the former room of a tea ceremony club for their own amusement.
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